Alternate Ending
by Souigintou
Summary: Allwise, decendants and lady issues, L'Arc faces more than his fair share in this alternate ending.
1. Prologue

"L'Arc! Wake up wake up wake up wake up!"

"Huh..?" I said confused. That voice…could it be..?

"You've been asleep for 500 years! Time to wake up!"

"Cecille..?" I asked.

"We all left messages for you for when you woke up." Rastan's voice this time.

"Don't worry about us, L'Arcy boy! I'm sure you'll never forget me! I mean, how could you?" That one was Leslie.

"Hey! Remember me? I'll live my life and become a legend! Look for my name in the future!" Definitely Serge.

"I've decided to go back to sleep after five years. Maybe we'll bump into each other in the future when I've grown up!" Cecille's voice said, in her usual giggly tone.

"I've decided to live my life out in this generation. I was proud to help Rex's son." Rastan.

"I've decided to find a nice 'bo' to take care of me! Oh, and help Shelly with the Republic." Good ol' Leslie.

"And I'll be that 'bo' ol' L'Arcy boy!" Serge and Leslie..? I can see that happening.

"Oh, and Alf said he's going to make the Meridian Empire a welcoming place for you when you wake up. Meaning you will be welcomed as a hero." Rastan explained. Good. I deserved to be welcomed as a hero after all I've done.

"We hope you have a wonderful life when you wake up." Everyone said together.

"What about Ryfia? Did she forget about me?" I said as I fell from where I had been sleeping/floating for the past 500 years. "I can't believe she didn't even leave me a message…"

"Who said I forgot about you? Didn't I tell you I would be waiting for you in the future?" It can't be…Ryfia? I looked up and saw her, with her purple hair and white mini dress. She hadn't aged a day… but how? Had she gone back to sleep or something?

"Ryfia..?" I asked stumbling towards her. As I got closer to her, I tripped, and she caught me.

"Who else would it be?"

"I feel so stupid…it took me 500 years to realize it, but now, I'm never gonna let you go." I said hugging her tightly.

"Oh, L'Arc…" She said hugging me back.

"So, shall we? Let's go look at the world we fought to protect." I said taking her hand and leading her out of the Holy Land of Noir.

"Mm!" She replied.

When we stepped out into the daylight, I had to shield my eyes for a few minutes (I was in a cave for 500 years…). The world looked different than I remember. In a way, it was happier, and less tense. "Ryfia?"

"Yes L'Arc?"

"How are we supposed to get down from here? I don't see Cecille The Brave anywhere…and we're 1,000 feet in the air." I said confused, and I had reason to be. Without a lightship, there was no way out of this place.

"That's why I had this put here!" She said, leading me to a teleportation device.

"Smart." I said, impressed. She, of all people, who didn't know what an inn was, thought of that. "Will this lead us anywhere we want to go?"

"Yep! Just say where you want to go and it will teleport you there! Before you woke up, I looked around at all the towns and these are everywhere, even the skywalks!" She says sounding impressed with herself.

"Sweet." I said, "Okay, let's see here…let's go to Diamant in the Meridian Empire."

It started to hum and sparkle around us. Then,_ WHOOSH!_


	2. Chapter 1

We were in the Empire, but more specifically, we were on the bridge that led into Diamant. "Whoa, look at this place! Alf sure did a good job." I said, continuing across the bride and into the city. My first stop was Zamuel's school, which would hopefully, still be there. The City looked the same, but more advanced. And judging by all the banners and people, the Empire must have been having some sort of festival.

"I wonder what's going on." Said Ryfia as we passed some kids running around like wing nuts.

"Yeah, I wonder." Soon, we entered into the city, and I was a little shocked at what I saw. I was finally close enough to see what was on the banners, and it was Eesa's symbol. And trust me, it was everywhere. "Why is Eesa's symbol everywhere?"

"I don't know…let's ask someone around here." Ryfia replied heading over to a random stranger. Good ol' Ryfia. Still hasn't learned to not talk to strangers. Well, at least nobody could arrest her for being a Diva anymore. "Excuse me ma'am, but what exactly is going on here?" She asked. The girl she was talking to had long pink hair and bright blue eyes. Somehow, she seemed awfully familiar.

"You mean you don't know?" The woman replied shocked to hear someone didn't know what was going on. "We're celebrating the return of the lost hero, L'Arc Bright Lagoon! 500 years ago, Lord Alfonse predicted the return of the lost hero to be this year at some time. We're having a year long festival to celebrate his return."

"A festival? Celebrating my return?" I asked the woman. "Then again, what can I say? I'm awesome like that…"

"Your return? We're celebrating the lost hero's return. Not you." She roared in laughter.

"You said they were celebrating L'Arc Bright Lagoon correct?" I said in a challenging voice.

"Of course." She said returning the challenge.

"Well what if I said I was L'Arc Bright Lagoon?"

"No way! There's no way you could possibly be him in a thousand years! I know what he looks like! There's a banner of him hanging from the castle's roof." She sneered.

"Then let's go to the castle and compare me to that banner of yours." I said heading towards the castle. "C'mon Ryfia."

"Coming!" She said following me.

"Hang on! I'm coming with you to prove that you're not him!" Said the woman trailing after us, "By the way, I'm Leilani."

"I'm Ryfia," she smiled.

"And I'm L'Arc."

"Still going on with that?" She snickered.

"That's my name! Why would I lie about my damn name?" I asked, practically yelling.

"L'Arc! Calm down!" Ryfia said putting herself between me and Leilani.

"Fine. Let's just get up to the castle and get this over with. Besides, I need to meet with the new Emperor and ask about Alf." I said continuing up the path towards the castle. Finally, after a few minutes of walking in silence, we reached the castle.

"Look, L'Arc! That's you!" Ryfia shouted, pointing at a giant banner hanging from the castle which read: Welcome Lost Hero, L'Arc Bright Lagoon! And under, the words, there was a picture of me.

"Well, waddya know?" Leilani said flabbergasted. "I guess you are the friggin' lost hero after all."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" I grumbled.

"Then I guess I should apologize. Please, let me repay the favor and invite you over to my house for tea." She said bowing in respect.

"Uh…sure I guess we'll come when we finish our business here at the castle. Is Master Zamuel's school still here?" I asked.

"Yeah, right down the path, right? 500 yeas ago, Lord Alfonse made sure that nobody tore it down or closed it." Leilani explained. "Even when it went bankrupt years ago, the castle donated at least 100,000 rico to keep it open!"

"Good." I sighed in relief. "Can you wait for me and Ryfia there?"

"Sure! I'll be waiting!" She said and darted off in the direction of the school.

"Let's go, Ryfia." I said heading towards the castle.

"Mm! I go wherever the 'lost hero' goes!" She hummed following me.

We walked up to the guards who immediately said "Halt! Who goes there?" As we walked up.

"I am L'Arc Bright Lagoon, the lost hero, and this is the Imaginal Diva, Ryfia." I explained. They took a good look at me, and then at the banner, before actually replying. Judging by the way that nobody believed I was the lost hero, I was guessing that lots of people pretended to be me.

"The lost hero? Tell Lord Absalom the prediction came true! Hurry!" The soldier shouted to some of his comrades, all standing in a line by the entrance.

"Yes sir!" Other soldiers said running into the palace.

"You can go ahead in, hero and Diva." He said bowing and allowing us to pass.

"Why do people keep bowing to me?" I asked.

"You saved the world, L'Arc! Why wouldn't people treat you with a high respect?" She answered enthusiastically. She grabbed my arm and started pulling me towards the entrance.

The castle was amazing. Things still looked similar to when I last visited the palace, but it was also different. There were more people and guards everywhere, but it still looked great. Alf took really good care of this place. The floors were still that reflective blue color and so were the walls, and the stained glass windows were even more vibrant then they were before. How I missed this castle.

"L'Arc Bright Lagoon?" A man asked, walking up to us.

"Yes?"

"Lord Absalom will see you now."


	3. Chapter 2

"Okay." Said Ryfia following the man. He looked like the general. Somewhat like General Freya used to be. He led us into the throne room and then left once we were inside.

"L'Arc Bright Lagoon, I presume?" Asked a man who looked strangely enough like Alf. He was sitting on the throne, so I assumed he was the emperor.

"That would be me, your majesty." I said, stepping forward.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet the lost hero after Lord Alfonse predicted your return 500 years ago. I am Lord Absalom." He said, standing and shaking my hand. "And who is this?"

"This is my good friend, the Imaginal Diva Ryfia. She helped me and everyone else fight to save the world." I explained.

"Pleasure to meet you, Lady Ryfia." He said taking her hand and kissing it softly. I didn't like that.

"Nice to meet you!" Said Ryfia in that peppy voice she has.

"Lord Alfonse made it a point that when you return to be treated as a hero for your actions. You are now the lost hero who has returned." He said making it a point that I had returned. (Is it me, or does he keep on saying that over and over...?)

"Yes, I have returned from a long sleep and wish to visit the places I fought to protect." I explained. "Such as the rest of the empire and also the republic."

"Of course, of course. But remember that you are always welcome here in the Meridian Empire. You're free to go." He said, waving us off.

"Thank you." Said Ryfia as we left the throne room.

"Was it me, or did he look a lot like Alf?"

"No, I thought it was Alf at first. I miss him…" She said with a look of sadness on her face as we exited the castle.

"I do too…let's just hurry and get back to Zamuel's and meet Leilani." I said, heading in the direction of the school.

"Here it is." Said Ryfia once we arrived. The school looked mostly the same, except that it was a little more advanced than it used to be, just like the rest of the city. "Remember when you first brought me here?"

"Yeah…we had Cecille with us and she ran to Niko yelling 'L'Arc's nothing but a big pervert!'" I said looking back on the memory. Ahh…good times. How I missed Niko, Leslie, Serge, Rastan, Alf, Cecille, and Sir Weiss. Even Dynos and Adele. Not Clyde though…still hate him.

"Leilani? You here?" I asked, walking through the front gate of the school.

"Leilaniiiiiii!" Yelled Ryfia in her sing song voice.

"Ryfia? L'Arc? I'm in here!" She said waving from the school's doors. "This place is pretty cool. There are swords everywhere! Are you a master swordsman?" She asked with a light shinning in here eyes.

"You bet I'm a master swordsman! This is where I learned to fight!" I exclaimed taking out Balmung.

"Whoa! Is that your sword? It's so big! How do you even hold that thing?" She asked.

"It's easy after you work up some muscle. You wouldn't be able to hold it…you look like guns would suit you best."

"Really? I don't know…but it's almost the time when I have to choose my weapon. I want to be a strong fighter like my brother…so I need to pick a really good one."

"Choose your weapon…what do you mean?" Asked Ryfia cocking her head to one side.

"When we turn sixteen, we have to go to the 'Ceremony of Passing' where we choose the weapon we will fight with. It's something the Emperor after Lord Alfonse passed. I don't know which weapon I will be choosing…what do you fight with Ryfia?"

"I use a staff and mainly use magic, but anyone can use magic. Mine is just stronger than L'Arc's." She explained.

"Maybe I should use a gun…I mean; they're light weight and easy to use right?" Leilani asked looking at me. "And it's something that runs in the family as well."

"Yeah, they're very easy to use. Actually two good friends of mine from 500 years ago actually used guns." I said looking back on it.

"That's right! I almost forgot about Niko and Leslie!" Exclaimed Ryfia.

"Leslie? You mean my great, great, great, great grandma Leslie? Who helped the lost hero 500 years ago? The master marksman Leslie?" Leilani asked eyes aglow.

"No way! You're Leslie's granddaughter? No wonder you hated me right from the start…" I said astounded.

"Why? Did she hate you?" She asked.

"Nooooooooo…she looooooved me! (At least she did later…) She only betrayed me and my friends to help the enemy! (Who was Alf…)" I said waving my arms like a maniac.

"But she helped you out in the end…right?"

"Yes!" Ryfia exclaimed. "She taught me so much about boys and what they like-"

"That's enough Ryfia." I said covering her mouth. "Leilani is too young to know about that."

"Why? I'm sixteen! And my brother's seventeen!" She said putting her hands on her hips.

"You have a brother?" Ryfia and I said in sync.

"Yeah. I said so earlier, didn't I? His name's Seff. He should be home…today!" Leilani running out of the school's courtyard and over to the guild next door.

"Did you know she had a brother?" I asked Ryfia who only shook her head. I shrugged and we both followed her into the guild.

"Seff! You're back!" She yelled in excitement as she threw her arms around a boy who was inside the guild.

"Jeez, Leilani! Get off of me!" He said tying to wriggle out of her grasp. "Ohh, and just _who_ did you bring with you this time?" The boy groaned after escaping Leilani's death hug. He looked exactly like Serge. I guess this means that Serge is their great, whatever, grandfather. So Serge and Leslie got together after all.

"This is Ryfia," she said gesturing to Ryfia, "and this is L'Arc, the lost, now found, hero!"

"You expect me to think this bastard is the lost hero? Leilani, you have to stop bringing home strangers! Don't you remember what happened last time?" He said moving Leilani away from us.

"Hey, I didn't try to do anything to your sister. You have NO right to accuse me of anything.

"You wanna go punk?" He said puffing out his chest.

"L'Arc! Stop this! There is no need to fight." Ryfia exclaimed, franticly pulling on my sleeve.

"This isn't your fight, bitch. Now move!" He said pushing Ryfia off me.

"Ryfia!" I screamed moving towards her. This kid was really pissing me off. "Alright! Now you've gone too far! Witness the power of the lost hero, come back to life! Prepare to DIE!"


	4. Chapter 3

"Ready to die?" I said as I took out Balmung.

"No. I don't think I'll be the one to die here. You will be the one to perish." Seff said pulling out daggers, glaring at me.

"I'm guessing your great, great, great, great, great grandfather was the famous Leon." I said, looking at Balmung with a hunger in my eyes.

"Leon? You mean Serge? Yes, that famous blood runs through my veins. Now, this body will destroy you. Prepare!" He yelled, throwing two daggers at me which I easily dodged.

"Seff! Please, stop this! I'm telling the truth! L'Arc is the lost hero and Ryfia is his Diva! Stop!" Leilani cried.

"I'm not stopping." He answered dryly.

"Like hell your not! I haven't had a good fight in 500 years! You're not quitting on me that easily!" I said pointing my sword towards Seff.

"L'Arc! I don't care if you continue, just don't hurt him!" Ryfia pleaded.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

"Born ready." He answered.

"Perfect." I said smirking.

He shot three daggers at me which I once again dodged easily. This boy was good, but still had a long way to go. He shot more at me, but this time I used Balmung to deflect them. I waited until I saw an opening then launched at him pinning him to the ground with Balmung positioned just above his heart, ready to strike.

"You still have a lot to learn if you want to beat me, boy." I shot taking Balmung away.

"What…?" He asked standing up. "Why didn't you kill me? Or at least wounded me?"

"Because Ryfia asked me not to." I replied gesturing at Ryfia.

"Seff!" Leilani screamed running over to him. "What were you thinking, challenging the lost hero? Are you an idiot?" She shrieked slapping him up side the head.

"You mean…you weren't kidding? Or tricked?" He asked astounded.

"Why would I lie about that?" She shouted shocked. "I'm your sister! Why would I lie to you? You're the one who disappears for months, even years, at a time! You leave me here all alone and abandoned! I know you're in the military for mother's sake, but why do you have to leave me alone all the time…?" She cried, tears running down her face; her anger turning to loneliness. "You're my only brother and the closest thing I have to a family right now…mother is in the hospital and I can't visit her because I have to take care of things here…" This boy was in the military so he could care for his mother? I guess I could say I had a newfound respect for him.

"Leilani…" Seff said taking her in his arms. "I promise. I won't leave you alone anymore. I'll quit the army."

"You can't do that! Then how will we pay for mother's hospital bills?" She questioned looking up at him.

"I don't know…maybe I'll become a pirate."

"Oh no you don't! I don't need another pirate on my hands! Your great grandfather was hard enough!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, was he? I thought he was the famous 'Leon' who fought for justice. Not a pirate." Seff challenged.

"He was, then got hurt, then became a pirate. I don't need a repeat of that." I said, pushing the thought out of my mind. "Think of something else to do."

"Like what?" He asked.

"I dunno. Ryfia and I are planning on going around the world to browse and see the how it's changed…you're welcome to ask her if you want to come along." I said averting my eyes from the monstrosity I'd created.

"Ryfia? Can we come?" Leilani pleaded, eyes sparkling and everything. (This girl really wanted to come…?)

"Of course! I'd love to have Leslie's great granddaughter with us for a while. Seff? Will you be joining us?" She said.

"I dunno…I still need to make money for mother." He stated.

"Did I mention that we beat up bad guys along the way and find treasure hidden everywhere and make millions of rico each day?" I stated flatly.

"I'm in!" He said.

"Good. Now, let's get you some guns." I said turning to Leilani. "You're going to need to be able to fight if you come along with us."

"Okay! But, I don't have any rico…" She replied. I could see the disappointment in her eyes.

"Really? Well, it just so happens that Ryfia and I have some extra rico." I said holding out about 200,000 rico for them to see. "If you want some new daggers, feel free to speak up."

"Yes, please!" He answered enthusiastically.

"Alright then. Shall we Ryfia?"

"Mm!" She said moving over towards me.

"Let's go find Cecille. She's been asleep for 495 years. Time for her to wake up." I said heading out the door. "You guys coming?"

"Yes!" They replied in sync following us out the door.

"I wonder what Cecille will think when she sees us," Ryfia thought aloud as we went into the shopping district. We entered a weapon store that had been named after Rastan (well, waddya know? Guess he went and made himself famous too).

"I dunno…hopefully she likes us and remembers us. Anyway, let's find Leilani some guns." I said looking around the shop.

"Excuse me, but can I help you, sir?" A saleswoman asked me.

"We're looking for some double guns for this young lady." I pointed at Leilani, who was admiring a sword in the window. "Can you set her up?" I replied.

"Of course. Right this way, ma'am." She said leading Leilani over to what looked like a gun's section.

"You know what your looking for, don't you?" I asked turning toward Seff, who was floating around the dagger section.

"Yeah, yeah. Just lemme…" He trailed off as a new dagger caught his eye. "I'll take this one!"

"Why?" Ryfia asked curiously.

"If it hits the opponent, the puncture wound becomes poisonous, making the victim fall in petrifaction." He explained.

"Good choice. How much?" I ask.

"15,000 Rico." He answered.

"Here. Now go pay." I said handing him the money. "Where is-" I started but was cut off by Leilani running up to me with two guns in her hands.

"Look! These are perfect! They shoot quicker than all the others and are completely light weight! And, it's only 20,000 Rico!" She exclaimed jumping up and down and pointing at the gun's many wires and gears.

"_Only_ 20,000? Whatever. Here's the money, now go pay and we'll make our way to the Lascarde Skywalk." I explained handing over more money.

"Be right back!" She jumped and took the money over to the counter to check out.

"Did we used to be that excited over buying new weapons?" I asked Ryfia.

"You always were. And you always bought everyone new weapons whenever you got the chance." She said her gaze somewhere else.

"Here they come. Now, let's go see our friend." I said leading them out of the store and towards one of the many teleportation pentagrams around the city. We all stepped into it, and gave it our command.

"Lascrade Skywalk." Ryfia said to the pentagram.

_WHOOOOSH!_


	5. Chapter 4

_WHOOSH!_

We stepped out from the teleportation pentagram and onto the Lascarde Skywalk. It was completely deserted. "Here. You need these in order to breathe." I said handing Seff and Leilani two dragon gems I just happened to be carrying.

"What are these?" Seff asked taking his.

"Dragon gems. They allow you to breathe without the hozone all Common Race need to breath. L'Arc is half Divine Race and can survive in both places. I'm Divine Race and therefore need this dragon gem." Ryfia explained showing Seff and Leilani her dragon gem.

"No one's here. I hope Cecille is still in the sleeping chamber." I said to Ryfia as we began down the hallway.

"Who is this Cecille you keep mentioning?" Leilani asked.

"She is the Hero of Justice who helped us fight against Eesa." Ryfia explained happily.

"Really? Then I bet she was older than you and ten times stronger." Seff stated with a challenging edge in his voice and glancing at me.

"She was twelve…but I will admit that she was stronger than any of us." I said with a twinge in my voice admitting that a twelve year old was stronger than me.

"That's okay. I still don't really know how to fight! But I'm a quick learner. I catch on fast." Leilani said pulling out one of her two guns.

"God, you look just like her." I muttered.

"Hmm?" She hummed.

"Nothing. C'mon let's go find Cecille." I said, leading them into the sleeping hallway. There were capsules everywhere.

"Which one is she in, L'Arc?" Ryfia asked.

"I don't know…do the capsules have labels at all?" I asked looking around at them.

"This one says something like, _Salomon Shivier_." Seff read. The name plate looked old. Probably 1500 years old, or older.

"So they do have labels." I confirmed. "Find one that says, _Cecille Garcia_." I said as we split up to search.

"She's not over here!" I heard Leilani call.

"Nor here!" Ryfia shouted.

"I don't see a, _Cecille Garcia, _anywhere." Seff yelled.

"I think I found her!" I shouted and everyone came running over. They all looked at the name plate on the capsule and it read, _Cecille Garcia, the Hero of Justice. _

"That's her." Ryfia and I said in sync. I guess she did end up becoming a great hero after all.

"How do we open this?" Leilani asked.

"Should we blow it open?" Seff asked with a devilish smile as he pulled out a bomb. (Where did the kid get this stuff…?)

"Or we could just push the button on the capsule that says, 'open'." I said pushing a button and watching the capsule's lid open slowly before a girl stepped out.


	6. Chapter 5

"L'ARC!" was the first word I heard out of Cecille's mouth. She shot out of her capsule and threw her arms around my neck. Her hair was much longer, and she had stopped wearing pigtails, though her hair hadn't lost its signature curl. The dress she wore now resembled a kimono more then the frilly one she used to wear. "It's so great to see you again! I was worried you'd forget and you wouldn't come to wake me up!" Her voice was mostly the same, and I had a feeling her personality hadn't changed a bit.

"Hello there, Cecille," Ryfia grunted angrily. Was she upset that Cecille was hugging me?

Cecille let go of me and faced Ryfia. "You jealous? Don't worry, I'm not making a move on L'Arc or anything," she giggled, her hand held up to her mouth the way she used to do it.

"I wasn't jealous!" Ryfia spat. She said that, but her face says she was. Was I really _that_ handsome? What am I saying? Of course I am.

"Hello there, citizens!" Cecille exclaimed, turning to Leilani and Seff. "I am Cecille Garcia, the hero of justice!"

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Leilani, and this is Seff," Leilani gestured to herself, and then Seff.

"What's up?" Seff smiled.

"You two look awfully familiar… but I don't believe we met, I mean, I've been asleep for the last 495 years…"

"You probably knew my great, great, whatever, grandparents, Leslie and Serge."

"I assumed that they'd be having kids. They got married two years after L'Arc went to sleep. It was so much fun! Shelly, Angie and I got to be her bridesmaids. Well, Angie was the maid of honor, of course, but it was still really, really fun!"

"L'Arc," Ryfia turned to me. "What's a bridesmaid?" Yep. Still had no basic knowledge of life…

"That doesn't really matter right now. We should get on and see the rest of the world," I stated.

"Good idea, L'Arc... Let's go see that festival. If I remember correctly, it should be taking place in the Republic as well," she grinned happily.

"You know about the festival?" I asked.

"Of course. Leslie, Serge, Rastan and I demanded that you'd be treated like a hero. It wasn't just Alf's decision, you know. Although he seemed pretty willing to do it, it took us a whole year to have Shelly schedule it in the Republic."

"We should get going, guys," I said, gritting my teeth at the memory of Shelly and all her 'Lagoon the Cursed' crap. Cecille and I led the way out of the skywalk. Ryfia followed behind angrily. She was totally jealous of Cecille. "Tell me more about what happened after Ryfia and I left."

"Well," she started, "I went on to become a famous hero, like I said I would. I was world-renowned, in both the Empire and the Republic," she bragged. She kept on going on about how famous she was, until her tone sunk to a more serious tone. "Has anyone told you yet?"

"Told me what?" I inquired.

"What are you talking about, Cecille?" Ryfia said, sounding a little scared.

"About Rastan."

"What about Rastan..?" Ryfia and I spoke in sync, fear tracing our words. We both knew that Rastan was long dead, but Cecille's tone made us terrified. She was never serious. Never. Not even when we were fighting a God.

"A few years after you went to sleep..." she paused. I could tell this wouldn't be good. "He was murdered."

"By who?" I roared.

"Two members of the Aion Unit. I know they disbanded when we killed Ignacy, but there were still some loyal members trying to avenge his death."

"It was Paula and Luna, wasn't it?"

"No, it wasn't!" She screamed. I was shocked at how she defended him. "Paula and Luna became mercenaries and helped solve his murder. Trust me, they wouldn't do that..."

"You feel pretty strongly about this, don't you?" I scoffed. "Remember that those two tried to kill us on several occasions."

"Ignacy was controlling them with magic. They really were very sweet girls. They helped Rastan's family get through it."

"But Rastan's family... I thought they were dead..."

"Did I forget to tell you that too?" she chuckled. "Rastan got remarried and had some kids," she smiled. That old stud.

"Rastan got married?" Ryfia inquired. "I can't see that..."

"Guys, maybe we should get going. This whole conversation is very awkward for me and Seff," Leilani said. We all nodded and continued out of the skywalk.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, we came to a teleportation pentagram. We all stepped inside, and I uttered my command, "Take us to the City of Carbunculus in the Terrmilian Republic."

The pentagram started to hum and soon, we were out of the skywalk, and in front of the gate to Carbunculus.


	7. Chapter 6

**Thank you to everyone who reveiwed (only one ;3;) Oh well, that one review got this chapter out quicker then it should have!**

**And I, of course, have to reply to it... So, to A.M.P. 1008, I say, no, Ryfia will NOT be another Adele. She's just a little jealous of Cecille getting L'Arc's attention.**

**Well, enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

"Just how we left it, right, L'Arc?" Cecille smiled. She was right. The city had changed even less then Diamant had. Given, there were some different things, but they were small differences that would happen to any city after 500 years. "Oh, but there is one thing you've never seen," she giggled and ran off into the city.

"Are you sure she's seventeen?" Seff questioned. I shrugged as a reply and followed Cecille into the city. Ryfia and the others followed behind.

"So this is Carbunculus?" Leilani said, awestruck at the bright colors, in contrast to the blue and white of Diamant.

"This is nothing," Seff scoffed. "I've been here loads of times."

"But _I _haven't!" She retorted, still looking around. Okay. It's a colorful city. It's not that big of a deal.

"Ryfia, did you spot which way Cecille went?" I asked.

"So you're actually asking me now?" what was that supposed to mean?

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Why don't you ask Cecille?" she sneered.

"I'm asking you where Cecille went! How could I possibly ask her?" I roared. I ignored her when she started ranting about Cecille and led our little group further into the city.

We turned at Opera Boulevard, in the direction of the cameo arena, expecting to see Cecille waiting (she used to like places like that), but she wasn't. Leilani gazed in awe at the arena.

"L'Arc, did you guys ever fight in there?" She asked.

"Lots of times," I snickered. "We were the reining champs of that place."

"Cool! We gotta fight in there some time!" Seff said, an evil smile spreading accross his face.

"Maybe later. We have to find Cecille right now," we started walking again, really just wandering around the city. Eventually, we came to a large library-like building that I had never seen before. We walked up to the building. Cecille said there was something I had never seen... And I assumed that this was it. I soon spotted Cecille sitting on the roof. She saw that she had been spotted, and jumped down, ledge by ledge until she reached the ground.

"What is this place?" Ryfia asked, her curiosity overpowering her jealousy.

"An ancestral center," she asked, brushing dirt of her dress.

"Hey, they have one of these in Diamant too," Seff said. "It's a record of descendants through the ages. You can find the descendant of anyone, or track your own ancestry."

"That's right," Cecille grinned. "I noticed that you didn't have anyone from Rastan's family with you, so I thought you might want to find one here. That way, it'll be like having the whole gang back together!"

"Thanks, Cecille," I said. I placed my hand on her head and ruffled her hair a bit.

"Aw L'Arc... Can't you see you're making Ryfia jealous?" she chuckled slyly.

I turned around and saw Ryfia, steam practically blowing out her ears. I chuckled a little and walked up to her.

"Ryfia, why are you so angry at Cecille?"

"I'm not angry," she snapped angrily.

"Yes, you are," I muttered. "Just stop it with the jealousy thing. I love you, not Cecille."

"But..." she started, but trailed off and sighed angrily. "Okay. I'm sorry I was angry at you, Cecille."

"It's okay. I forgive you, but I guess it was sort of my fault, too."

"And mine," I admitted. "But then again, it's not my fault I'm this handsome." I made a pretty boy pose and Cecille and Leilani started cracking up. They continued laughing as they entered the building, and I think I heard Leilani say something like 'clueless slut' or something. "What?" I shouted. "I just can't please you two, can I?"

"Don't worry, L'Arc. I think you're very handsome," Ryfia pecked my cheek and followed the girls inside.

"I just don't get girls," I said to Seff, following them into the building.

"Neither do I, my friend. Neither do I."

We rejoined the girls and started roaming around. "Where do we find this Rastan guy? Does he have a last name?" Seff asked.

"It's not initially sorted by last name," Cecille explained. "There are key sections based on first name, and then they go into deeper sections by last name. They decided to do it this way because some people don't have last names. Weird, huh? And anyway, there's a special section for famous people. Rastan will be in there."

"That's awfully convenient," Leilani said, sounding somewhat suspicious. We ignored her and followed Cecille through the building towards the section for famous people. When we entered, there were a few people in there, but not many. The room wasn't as big as I expected, but was stacked high with books, some small and some exceedingly huge.

"Let's look around a bit and see who's here first," I said, hoping to find myself among the many names. We all split up and started searching. Everyone went to a different letter area, while I headed to the L's to search for your truly. I started filing through the books, looking for myself, which I eventually did. It showed my whole family tree, hiding no secrets, and even mentioning that Weiss was my half-brother. It had information on everyone in my family, including an extra long description of _my_ heroism.

Once I was done with the book, I put it back on the shelf and glanced around at some of the other people in the room. One of them was rather close to me, and looking at a book from the L section. I walked over to her, curious about who she was reading about.

"Hey," I greeted her. She looked no older then ten, and her outfit seemed vaguely familiar.

"Hello there," she glanced up at me, but then dropped her book in shock when she saw who I was. "You're L'Arc Bright Lagoon!" she gasped.

"Finally someone recognizes me," I smiled, and then bent down to pick up the book she dropped. "Sorry, I lost your page," I shrugged as I handed her the book.

"It's okay. I was only reading about my grandfather," she smiled. "I've read about him several times over. He was a very talented warrior, though he wasn't famous."

"Then why is this book in the section full of famous people?" I inquired.

"I'm descended from the famous Luna. Don't you see the resemblance?" I must have made some kind of shocked expression, because the next thing she said was, "what's wrong? I know you didn't like her but are you really _that _shocked?"

"I'm not that shocked. I just didn't think she'd be able to find a husband..." I really couldn't picture Luna ever falling in love. Not after the way she and her sister almost killed us repeatedly... But then I remembered what Cecille had said. That they had been being controlled by magic and were actually very sweet. And I shouldn't have been surprised that this girl was related to them. Her outfit strongly resembled that of the Aion Unit, and she really _did _look like Luna.

"I'm Lily, by the way," she said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Are you looking for someone in particular?"

"Yeah. Rastan. You know of him?"

"Of course!" she exclaimed happily. She ran over to the R's and pulled out a book without even looking at it. She opened it up and started flipping through some pages. She landed on a page all about Rastan. "You mean him, right?"

"Yep, that's him."

"And you're looking for the most recent descendant, correct?"

"That would be correct."

She flipped through over half the book until she came to a page all about a girl named Raina. According to the book, she was a highly skilled swordsman who was the bodyguard for the senator. I assumed that she was the most current descendant I would be able to find.

"Why do you know so much about Rastan and this Raina person?" I asked.

"Because I'm Raina's assistant," she said happily.


	8. Chapter 7

"Really? You seem pretty small to be the assistant of the senators' bodyguard," I remarked, but the smile didn't leave her face.

"I can take you to Raina if you want. I'm sure she'd love to meet you," Lily grabbed my hand before I could answer and started towards the exit. I stopped before she could pull me out.

"Wait a sec, okay? Can I at least get my friends first?" I asked. She nodded, and I called my friends towards the exit. They all came rushing up to me, wondering who the girl I was with was. Ryfia got a shocked look when she saw that I was holding hands with Lily, but the she must have remembered what I said and calmed down. I noticed and pulled my hand out of Lily's grasp. "Guys, this is Lily." I gestured toward Luna's descendant.

"Let me guess. She's related to Luna," Cecille guessed. I nodded and she got a happy look on her face, like she knew everything.

"Hi there," Lily waved. "Let's see..." she pointed at Leilani and Seff. "You two are related to Serge and Leslie, the two great warriors who fought alongside L'Arc."

"How did you know that?" Seff asked suspiciously.

"I spend a lot of time in this place. I've read about almost everyone in the famous section," she sounded proud of that, but to me it sounded like she didn't have a life. She looked at Cecille and Ryfia and a surge of excitement went through her. "And you two must be the great Ryfia and Cecille, the two members of the Divine Race that as well helped save the Common Race!"

"Nice to meet you," Ryfia smiled.

We went on talking for a while, but soon we left the building and headed towards the senate to meet Raina.

...

The rest of the city seemed to be unchanged. Well, except the senate building which seemed to have only gotten bigger.

We walked up the giant staircase leading into the building, and for once, the guards at the top didn't stop me. They just got shocked expressions on their faces and saluted me in respect. I loved being famous.

We entered the main hall of the building. It was even more elegant then it was before. The green and white walls were brighter and more reflective, but still nowhere near the walls of Castle Diamant.

I marveled at the beauty of the place all the way up the stairs and into the hallway which lead to the office of the senators.

Instead of two Republic soldiers standing outside the big door, there was one person standing guard. She was tall and skinny with long, purple hair, sharp features, and black eyes. She wore brown boots and big blue coat the way Rastan used to. I assumed that this person was Raina.

"Raina, I found some really important people!" Lily screamed, running up to the girl with the purple hair.

"Really? Is it someone actually important or did you locate another nameless mercenary who claims to have saved the Republic?" she said it in a bitter way, the same way Seff did when he asked about who Leilani had brought with her.

"No, no!" She protested, "This time, it's L'Arc Bright Lagoon!"

Raina looked up at our group. It was impossible to read her expression, but I could make out shock, admiration, and doubt. However important or powerful this girl was, I could tell she had been waiting for us for a long time.

...

After explaining everything to Raina, and going through mindless questions to prove we were the real deal, she finally said hello.

"It's an honor to meet you, L'Arc Bright Lagoon. I am Raina, descendant of Rastan and guard to the senate."

"You can just call me L'Arc," I said, shaking her hand. "So, how's the Republic doing?" Leslie had promised that she would work her magic on the Republic, but I hadn't seen any of it so far.

"The Republic has never been better," she smiled slightly. "As soon as you left, repairs started in the cities of Benetnasch, Batrachites and Antrax. More bridges have been built leading into the Empire as well."

"You repaired Benetnasch?" Ryfia gasped. "For real?"

"Yes, Imaginal Diva," she nodded. "The Singing Ministry has been fully restored to its former glory. And just a few years ago, the Republic's largest project was completed. It was made especially for this festival for you return," she gestured towards me and Ryfia.

"Yeah. I haven't seen it yet, but I've heard it's really something!" Lily smiled.

"What is it, exactly?" I asked.

"A statue and a rather large on at that. It stands on the ruins of Hosea's church. I hear it's made of only the purest metals, such as silver and gold. I haven't seen it either, but sources say it's a sight you can never forget."

"The _ruins_of Hosea's Church?" Ryfia tilted her head in confusion. "Did you guys tear it down?"

"That's old news, sweetie, about 475 years old news. Of course we tore it down. The religion was nearly entirely abandoned when the Common and even the Divine race discovered its secrets."

I couldn't tell if Ryfia was upset by this news, or pleased. She just had that blank Ryfia-like stare that made it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

"Excuse me for a moment," Raina said. "I must speak with the senate to arrange a small vacation for me and Lily," she and Lily entered the senate and our group was left in an awkward silence.

...

When the two came back out, they looked a whole lot happier. Especially Lily.

Raina told us that her request for time off had been approved, and that we would all be going to Benetnasch to see the statue. When she was finished, Lily gushed out that one of the senators had told her it was about time she chose her weapon.

"But... You're so young. I thought you had to be sixteen to choose your weapon. That tradition spread even to the Republic," Leilani said, sounding extremely confused.

"Things are different in the Republic," Raina sighed, agitated. "I choose my weapon when I was seven. If those close to you say you're ready, you aren't allowed to refuse. The senator that requested Lily pick her weapon was serious and you can't refuse a senator. And I do believe Lily is ready as well."

"Really? You were always saying that I had to wait 'til I was thirteen at the least!"

"I wanted to make sure you were ready, but since someone else has suggested you, I can't refuse," she started towards the stairs that led to the lobby. She looked back at us and we followed.

We left the building and went down the street, made a turn and entered the industrial zone. A little further down the street, Lily ran ahead and stared in awe in front of a shop window. The shop looked old, but to me, it was completely new.

It was called the Aion Unit Emporium. It seemed that Paula and Luna were their poster girls and they sold tons of stuff from weapons to clothes and action figures.

"Here! I want to get my weapon here!" She ran into the store and we all followed her inside. It was much bigger on the inside then it was on the outside. Posters and statues of Paula, Luna and other Aion Unit members that seemed to have switched sides were everywhere. The store was mainly split into three sections. One for weapons and armor, another for clothes that looked like the Aion Unit uniform, and the third was for toys and other memorabilia.

We located the small blonde girl in the weapons section, inspecting a big, red scythe.

"Find something you like?" Cecille asked, looking at the scythe with her.

"I like this one. It was modeled after Paula's ax and has strong offense as well as moderate defense. It also increases the power of fire magic." pretty spiffy weapon there.

"Sure you don't want to look around some more? Once you choose your weapon, it's very expensive and time consuming to choose a new one," Raina warned.

"I'm sure," Lily nodded. She gripped the scythe righter and walked towards the checkout counter, the rest of us on her tail.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" the shopkeeper said in a bubbly tone.

"Yeah!" Lily said, her voice flooding with joy. She placed the scythe on the counter and the saleslady looked at it quizzically.

"You sure you want something this big?"

"Well..."

"Don't worry. For just 1,000 extra rico, we can make size adjustments. It'll take about an hour, though."

Lily looked at Raina for an answer. Rain sighed and placed the money for the scythe and the adjustments on the counter.

"Right. Come back in an hour and it'll be ready. I just need your name, and you'll be set to go."

"Raina," she answered. The saleslady nodded and took the scythe into a back room.

"What now?" Seff asked.

"Simple. I spoke with the senators about your return, and they've had something prepared for your return. After the unveiling, the festival will start, and it will spread throughout the Republic." Raina explained. Unveiling of what?

"You mean it's finally ready?" Lily gasped. Raina nodded and led us all out of the store and back into the industrial zone. We went down the street, passing through the artists' zone and into Circular Park. I didn't know why I hadn't noticed earlier, but where there used to be a fountain with a swirling ball of ray around it, there was a tarp covering some kind of big, pointy object. A crowd was gathering, so I assumed that they would be taking the tarp off soon.

Finally, after it seemed that all of Carbunculus and more had arrived, a regal looking fat man with black hair stepped up to a podium in front of the tarp and began giving a speech.

It was the usual 'thanks for coming, I'm in charge, there's a statue now!' deal. Finally, he got to the point.

"Today, we honor the return on the great hero, L'Arc Bright Lagoon! Lost hero, step up now, to accept our gratitude!" after that, there was silence as I pushed through the crowd, my friends following behind me. Finally, I reached the front and stood in front of the man at the podium. He took a photo out of his breast pocket before saying anything. He looked at the picture, then at me, then at the picture, then at me again. He placed the photo back in his pocket and announced to the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you L'Arc Bright Lagoon, the Lost Hero!"

The crowd erupted into cheer, and the tarp fell off the pointy thing. I was almost shocked at what I saw. It was a huge statue made out of what looked like stainless steel. More importantly, it was me; holding up my sword so that it caught the light perfectly and reflected different colors all over the place.

I read the inscription at the bottom. It said, in fancy writing, 'L'Arc Bright Lagoon, the Lost Hero and savior of both the Common and Divine Races.' what made me angry, was the other inscription. It was crooked and sloppy, and it had been down with a knife instead of a machine. The second one said 'Lagoon the Cursed.' Damn. Nothing pissed me off more then when Shelly and the rest of the Republic called me that.

...

After a brief party full of dancing, bad jokes and booze, we headed towards the teleportation pentagram that they had installed at the entrance to the city.

Once there, we all stepped inside and I said my command.

"Benetnasch."


	9. Chapter 8

**Thanks for the reveiws guys! ^^ Your reveiws are what keep me motivated to keep this story up.**

**Thankfully, we'll finally be getting to Allwise in this chapter, so wait no more!**

* * *

We all stepped out of the circle and found ourselves in the city of Benetnasch. The place had changed immensely since I last saw in. The damage done in Ignacy's attack had been long repaired and I could see that this town had advanced much further then any of the others I had visited so far.

"It's... Beautiful! Just like how it was before!" Ryfia gasped, running deeper into the city.

"C'mon, L'Arc," Cecille said. "She may be 516 years old, but we still can't let her wander off alone," we all followed Cecille after Ryfia into the city. As we were approaching where the church used to be, I saw Ryfia staring at something in awe. I wondered what it was and rushed ahead.

When I turned the corner, I saw why.

A huge statue. Bigger then the one in Carbunculus, this one made of gold and silver. It was huge, but what really amazed me was the detail put into it. So much stuff came together in the sculpture, it almost hurt to look at it.

On top, I was on the statue, two gleaming emeralds acting as my eyes. I was sitting on a throne, my hand supporting the weight of my head which was resting on it lazily. My face was one of triumph. Below that, Ryfia and Adele stood, their staffs crossed to make an X. Below their staffs, Alf was kneeling, his hand across his chest as if addressing royalty, which I found funny since he _is_royalty. On a layer below that, Leslie and Serge were holding hands. In their other hands, they held out their weapons, as if fighting invisible enemies. Niko and Clyde stood to either side of them, just out of range of their weapons. Under them, Dynos was giving Cecille a piggy-back ride and Paula and Luna were helping Rastan fight Luze. Weiss stood off to the side, his cursed arm exposed. On the bottom of the statue, miniature versions of the Twelve Rogress formed a base for the rest of the action.

It was amazing. The entire thing amazed me. I couldn't look away. Everyone was captured so beautifully and since the entire thing was made of gold, silver, and precious gems, it seemed like there should have been more people here to look at it.

"Wow," was all I could say.

I was drawn back into reality when Cecille sighed sadly, "Dynos..."

"The statue is quite beautiful. How I would enjoy meeting the brave warriors that fought alongside you," Raina said.

"I'd love to meet Leslie," Leilani said.

"And Serge," said Seff.

"Paula, Luna and Rastan would be cool to meet, too," Lily mustered a smile.

"Wait!" Cecille shouted. I caught a hint of hope on her voice, but I didn't know what that was about.

"What is it?" Seff asked.

"Allwise," she said. She noted our confusion, and explained, "The Infinite Maze of Allwise. It's a giant place where you can speak with the dead, see them and fight alongside them once more. If we went there, we could see everyone else!"

"For real? Everyone?" Ryfia asked, awe flooding her voice.

"Let's go, then! What're we waiting for?" Leilani squeaked.

"Where is this maze, anyway?" I asked.

"By the New Moon Inn. You can meet us there once you pick up Lily's weapon," Cecille smiled. "The Moon Inns are still here, right?"

"Of course," Seff answered. "Although they're mostly used by mercenaries nowadays."

"Good. Well, let's get going."

We went back to the pentagram after taking a look at the rest of the city.

Raina and Lily went back to Carbunculus while the rest of us went to the New Moon Inn to see this 'Allwise Maze.'

I said my order, and the pentagram started to hum. The swirling light filled the air around us...

_Whoosh!_

...

We appeared in front of an old building with a shingled roof. Around us and the building to one side was a maple forest, and on the other side, we were perched over a cliff, overlooking the sea. One part of the cliff jutted out past the rest, and right at its end, was a more complex pentagram, already humming with energy.

"Whoa! What is that?" Leilani yelled, pointing at the pentagram like she had never seen one before.

"The entrance to the maze?" Ryfia guessed.

"Exactly," Cecille replied, running over to look at it closer. We all followed her.

We waited for a while for Raina and Lily to return, and eventually they did. Lily was carrying the scythe she had picked out, only quite a bit smaller.

Without saying a word, we all entered the pentagram. It was different from the others. Instead of humming and flashing... We just appeared in the maze.

The maze was huge. It was infinite nothingness with swirling, twisting, and turning platforms hanging around in random spots, each with pentagrams of their own at the end and beginning.

I finished looking around and finally saw what was standing right in front of me. In her human form, Allul was standing calmly in her green dress and blue hair.

"Who's she? One of your friends? She wasn't on the statue," Seff said.

"She was on the statue," I corrected. "She's a Rogress."

"NO WAY!" Raina screamed with excitement. "She's a...?" she pointed at Allul with a shaky hand.

"L'Arc. Welcome to the Infinite Maze of Allwise. You know full well what goes on here, correct?" Allul asked.

"Yes," I answered. "I know that here, the dead live. I also know that not just humans exist here. Monsters as well." I was hoping I was right. Allul was always correcting me and it irked me. A lot.

"Half right," she said, still absolutely no emotion in her voice. "But now, you will run into no monsters. The scars of their hatred have faded and the wounds of their rage have healed." Why the hell did she always have to speak in metaphor?

"Right..." Cecille said, sounding confused. "We really just want to see our friends."

"Of course. But you'll have to find them on your own," and with that, she disappeared in a swirl of snowflakes.

"How?" Ryfia asked. "This place is HUGE!" she screamed the word huge, but there was no echo, only proving her point on how huge it was.

"We'll find a way," I said, starting down the first winding path.

We went on, going from platform to platform, pentagram to pentagram. The little monsters that scurried around didn't bother us at all, and in fact, seemed friendly even.

I was about to give up after about the 20th pentagram, but at the other end of this one, I was overjoyed at what I saw.

Looking in the opposite direction was a couple, leaning on each other. The man had long orange hair and black suit lined with green. The woman had pink hair tied in a ponytail to one side and was wearing pants with one leg cut short, revealing white fishnet tights.

Ryfia, Cecille and I all yelled in sync, "Leslie! Serge!"


End file.
